Who says you need land to have a garden?

Picking plants to build a beautiful container can be as confusing, intimidating and gratifying as choosing paints to redo your home. So many plants to choose from. What will work with what? But, in the end, it's your creation and, hopefully, a beautiful one.

So wouldn't it be grand, you say, if you could eliminate the confusing and intimidating parts? We think so. That's why we're bringing you Container Gardening 101, a short class on how to select compatible and suitable plants for your container garden. Even if you're not a gardening virgin but just need some design guidance, these tips on plant combinations for sunny and shadier sites from Kim Kozimor of Kim Kozimor Garden Design, and Chicago Botanic Garden horticulturist Nancy Clifton are sure to help.As a CG101 grad and with your newfound confidence, you can plant several and arrange them to resemble a garden bed on your balcony, porch steps, roof deck or patio.

Their first lesson: A good design guideline is to include three kinds of plants.

- One that stands tall

- One that mounds to fill out the middle

- One that trails down. (Different plants have different habits, and some plant species have been bred in varieties that grow in different ways. There are mounding petunias and trailing petunias, for example.)

You can combine any tall, mounding and trailing plant, as long as you don't mix up plants with different requirements. And these plants are only a start; if you can't find them, or you're looking for more options, the staff at a good garden center can help you select others. Or you can check out books or Web sites that offer many ways to mix it up.

Lesson No. 2: Before you start choosing plants, assess the basic conditions they will have to live with, and be sure to put together plants that have similar needs, Clifton says.

How much sunlight does your spot get? Full-sun plants need at least six hours a day; if you have shade, you will want species that are adapted to darker conditions. Be hardheaded about how much light you really have. Wishful thinking -- for example, trying to grow sun-loving lantana in the shadow of tall buildings or the walls of a townhouse patio -- leads only to heartbreak.

Remember that conditions change, Clifton says. There may seem to be ample light in the spring, but when trees leaf out your plants could be struggling in shade.

Is your rooftop or balcony exposed to strong winds? Many plants won't tolerate being whipped around, or will dry out on a roof no matter how much they're watered.

Lesson No. 3 (and perhaps the most essential): How much work are you are willing to do? You definitely will be watering, possibly every day in hot summer weather, because containers dry out faster than garden soil. Still, you can choose plants that require more or less care, though none are pot-it-and-forget-it.

On the other hand, you won't be fighting bad garden soil. The handy thing about annual containers is that they are "truly an artificial environment," says Kozimor. You supply a growing medium with the right drainage and a fertilizer for just the right nutrients. Because you are watering, drought is less of a worry. And when the frost comes at the end of the season, you just let it all go and start again next year.

----------

What are those plants in the pot?

The container shown here is the "Renoir's Rose" combination from Ball Horticultural's Plant by Number Web site, plantbynumber.com. The West Chicago firm's Web site offers several container combinations, many plants from its Simply Beautiful brand name. The "Renoir" plants are:

Move it: One benefit of containers is that you can move them around to follow the sun (or your fancy) as it changes through the season. But when you buy a container, warns Nancy Clifton of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, make sure you will be able to lift it when it's filled with wet soil.

Coordinate containers: Choose your pots as carefully as you choose the art on your walls. Even if you can afford only one new pot a year, invest in building a collection that works together and that you like to look at even when they're empty, says Kim Kozimor of Kim Kozimor Garden Design in Chicago.

Match the architecture: Think of the style of your architecture and decor when buying a pot, and the style of your pot when planning your planting. One plant such as a tall, waving grass can be dramatic in a contemporary pot. Mixed arrangements usually are associated with more traditional-style containers, Clifton says.

Break the rules: The tall-mounding-and-trailing combination is just one way to go. Feel free to experiment with varying shapes and heights of pots and plants.

Go solo. One of this year's big trends is the single-plant pot -- with an eye-filling burst of color from one kind of foliage or flowers.

Play around: Plant several different shapes of plants alone in different pots and create a combination from the group. Rearrange them as you like. This is a good strategy for a beginning gardener tentative about planting combinations, Clifton says.

Build a background: Not every container needs to be a big star. A supporting cast of pots with green foliage or white flowers sets the stage. A restrained color scheme -- all cool colors with green, for instance -- can unify your pots and make them feel like a garden.

Remember (nearly) anything goes: "Anything can be used as a container," Kozimor says. "I always encourage people to choose very creatively." Think old rusty coal scuttle, fireman's hat, hardware-store galvanized bucket, anything that will hold soil. One unbreakable rule: There must be a hole to let water drain away so it doesn't drown plants' roots. "Don't try to cheat and have a couple of inches of gravel," Kozimor says. "Drill a hole."

Take houseplants outdoors: Mix them up with flowering annuals such as impatiens or just move the whole pot outside. Philodendron, pothos or ivy are lovely trailers for a combination; those little baby spider plants will do fine outside. Remember, though, that nearly any plant that can survive on low indoor light levels will need to be in shade outdoors.

Look out below: A typical balcony can support several pots, Clifton says. But think about where the water will drain -- onto your neighbor's head? Don't create stumbling blocks with containers; if space is tight, consider window boxes around the perimeter. Check with your building to see if there are rules about hanging containers on railings.

Prepare for winter: If you must keep your containers on a balcony or rooftop once it freezes, be sure they are frostproof. Always ask when you buy them. Never leave any container standing right on concrete, Clifton says; it holds water and can crack pots with a layer of ice.

Start fresh: It is possible to overwinter perennials and some shrubs in containers, but they need to be wrapped and well-insulated or sunk in garden soil to protect their vulnerable roots from cold and wind. If you live up on high, it's easiest to start over each spring.

----------

Some container sources

During the spring, a wide range of containers are available everywhere from architectural salvage businesses to big-box department stores. Many independent garden centers carry a wide range. Here are just a few spots to shop:

Good Earth Greenhouse, 7900 W. Madison St., River Forest; 708-366-9500. Small greenhouse and nursery has considerable assortment of pots.

Kimball & Bean Architectural and Garden Antiques, 3606 S. Country Club Rd., Woodstock; 815-444-9000 or kimballandbean.com. Specializing in salvaged and reproduction cast-iron containers, ranging from $150 up to several thousand dollars.

Jayson Home & Garden, 1885 N. Clybourn St., 773-248-8180 or jaysonhomeandgarden.com. Large selection of containers in many materials and other garden decor. (Containers range in price from $40 to $250.)

Q: I have a will along with a power of attorney for health and assets. I listed in my will an executor and three other people as backup executors, just in case one doesn't want to do it. (Out of four people one might be willing to be the executor.)